Kirsti Brown

Kirsti is a ceramicist based in Hawarden, Flintshire. She obtained a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Crafts from Crewe and Alsanger College, Manchester Metropolitan University, and set up her first studio in Chester in 1996.

'Inspired by my love of wandering, drawing and daydreaming by the coast, I hand build ceramic vessels influenced by the sea, beaches and cliffs around Wales and Scotland. The decoration evokes shorelines, waves and landscape featuring my distinctive vivid turquoise glaze.

The work I currently produce is hand built from a variety of stoneware clays. The slab built bottles are created using thinly rolled clay to create finished pieces which are light and elegant. Coiled bottles are spherical in form, but each one is completely different due to the nature of the construction method. The bottles made are reminiscent of human forms having defined shoulders and narrow necks. The glazes and decorations are then added to evoke landscapes, seascapes and marks found in the landscape. The coiled forms are reminiscent of washed and worn beach pebbles. I use a dry turquoise glaze as well as impressed marks highlighted with copper carbonate and over glazed with a satin white glaze. Using a variety of clays, the glaze is altered from a vivid turquoise to a washed out blue.'